


A Modern-Day Assassin

by Loki_The_Mad



Category: Original Fiction - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:20:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28304457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_The_Mad/pseuds/Loki_The_Mad
Summary: **This is an au of my other work, After The Storm, Before the Hurricane, with my close friend's OCs written in**Corvid wouldn't have considered an... associate, had it not been suggested to him. But as soon as it is, he can't stop thinking about it.Who better than a little vigilante with a not-so-subtle Trust Fund Baby boyfriend?
Comments: 7
Kudos: 3





	A Modern-Day Assassin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ayden600](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayden600/gifts).
  * Inspired by [After the Storm, Before the Hurricane](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24057970) by [Drxxmingofblue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drxxmingofblue/pseuds/Drxxmingofblue), [Loki_The_Mad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_The_Mad/pseuds/Loki_The_Mad). 



> I don't expect anyone but a select few to understand this- as mentioned in the summary, it's using OCs that aren't present in this universe. Primarily for @Ayden600. Merry Christmas! I hope you like it!
> 
> -Loki

“How outmatched do you think I am, exactly?” 

The question was rhetoric, obviously, but Greyson still watched his guard squirm as he grasped for an answer. The two in the hall outside his lab- in the room across from it, the barracks said guard had emerged from. He continued. 

“I can handle myself, thank you. Euclidi can only manipulate so many things at once- he’s hardly got a hold of metal. I doubt he’ll be throwing buildings at me any time soon. Is that understood?”

The man nodded gravely. He was a newbie- someone Greyson had plucked from an anarchist gang that had readily (and mistakenly) offered themselves up for service, and when an opportunity like that presents itself, you just don’t say no. Suffice to say, he planned to (and already had) made full use of their ready and willing members. 

But clearly this one hadn’t quite realized what he’d gotten himself into, or the kind of man Greyson was, the kind of way he fought. He didn’t partner with vigilantes. They were too… unpredictable. He appreciated their morals, of course, but certain vigilantes weren’t above going to a certain Hero Union if they had so much as a fraction of information about him. You never knew which fraction, which sliver of ‘harmless’ information could turn not-so-harmless when it fell into the wrong hands.

“Good. You may go. I don’t need someone on my tail 24/7.” 

Greyson didn’t watch him go; instead, he turned into his lab. It wasn’t so much a lab as a study room, for the moment. He was working on it. 

No, he wasn’t the kind of man to partner with vigilantes…

But he hadn’t thought himself the kind of man to warrant the Nemesis Principle either, and look where that had gotten him. It could be useful.

Either way, the idea had already been mixed into his cacophonous melting pot of a brain. And that was never good. 

❖⊱⋆❛❜⋆⊰❖

“It wouldn’t be definite, or permanent.” Greyson repeated for the umpteenth time to the uncooperative vigilante. This wasn’t working, and if it kept up like that, he’d have to resort to… plan B, to say the least. His gloves already sat on the seat between them, indicating that he wasn’t above using threats as a means of manipulation. “I just think it’d be worth a shot. Who said sidekicks were only for heroes?”

“Normally, they call those ‘henchmen’.” The platinum-blond vigilante currently sitting in the back of his car next to him spat back, like his mouth was full of lemon juice. 

There had been a lot of consideration, when it came to who he’d ask. In the end, he’d picked this particular one because… because he himself didn’t know what he’d do if he were the one in Euclidi’s place. For the life of him, he could not create an outcome in which they fought and he won. And hopefully, Euclidi wouldn’t be able to, either. 

“And besides, who said I wanted to be a sidekick to a villain? Especially one who decides kidnapping is the most efficient way of asking?” 

Greyson huffed. “I didn’t kidnap you. We’re still outside your little meeting.” He nodded toward the inconspicuous and vaguely-questionable building Rook had just come out of. “I haven’t taken you anywhere.”

The vigilante, Rook Asterion, tried the door. Locked. Of course- Greyson wasn’t done talking. 

“Holding me hostage, then. And I don’t fight heroes.”

“What do you call that little thing with Bellona, then, darling? She’s a hero, isn’t she?”

“That wasn’t- it’s just not what I do, okay? I’d rather not fight heroes if I don’t have to. Especially ones like Euclidi. He’s not doing it for the money- He’s doing it because you roped him into it.”

“The NHU roped him into it. You’re hardly one to talk. Tell me, how much did this one offer?” He nodded at the building Rook had just walked out of. “Who does he want dead?”

Rook bristled. He hadn’t gotten the chance to put his mask back on- not that it mattered. Greyson knew just who he was.

“Is that a threat?”

“No. This is.”

Greyson slid a picture, face down, across the seat between them, the crisp corner catching slightly on his silken gloves. 

Rook hesitantly slid it to the edge so he could pick it up. 

Greyson could practically see recognition, then love, then fear, then hatred pass through his eyes. Aerus Hekillion was hardly an unrecognizable figure, after all, but he knew that Rook’s relation to him was a bit more… intimate. 

“The mayor’s son. Ambitious of you.”

“How did you-”

“How did I know? Did you think I didn’t have anyone in his serving staff? They’ve got good ears. Tell me love, were you meant to kill him, or did your client just need a mole somewhere close to the mayor?”

“That’s none of your-”

“It is when I need something out of you. All I’m asking is one fight. Just to try it out. If I decide you’re useful… Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, won’t we?”

Greyson pulled his gloves back on. “Welcome to the team.”  
❖⊱⋆❛❜⋆⊰❖

Aerus had had a late night. Another charity ball. And while he knew how important it was for his father’s reputation that he attended, it was hardly important that he enjoy going to them. Only that he could fake it. 

He might have been a little drunk, too. 

Not nearly drunk enough for the figure sat on the couch by the door to his rooms to be a hallucination, though. It was too dark to tell who it really was, but he caught the blond hair and the mostly-black suit and the silver mask. Rook’s was white, but Aerus couldn’t tell the difference in the near-total darkness.

“Rook, what are you doing here this late? You know it’s dangerous.” He stepped forward to climb into his lap on reflex, a hand going toward the back of his head to curl into his hair and lean in for a kiss.

His hair was a lot longer than Rook’s…

And Rook wasn’t that tall, was he?

Greyson didn’t say anything. Just watched as Aerus shot up and went for the lightswitch. He let out a slight gasp, slight sigh. Sat on his silken couches was not his vigilante. The suit had lacings and patterns of indigo, instead of the dark teal Rook favored.

This wasn’t the first time a morally-grey super had broken into his apartments. Hopefully, it would be the last- Rook didn’t so much ‘break in’ anymore. 

“Not your little assassin boy, darling. Good try, though. I suppose I do look like him, a bit.”

“What are you doing here? What have you done with R- Moonlighter? I can only assume this has something to do with him…”

“And you’d be right. He’s just fine for the moment. I wanted a little help with a certain pest that’s been assigned to me and I thought he’d do the trick.”

“You, asking for help? From a vigilante?” 

“Not asking. Lovers are very good leverage. And I’d rather get Euclidi out of the way before this gets worse. I find that villains have conflicting motivations, more often than not.”

“You’re a villain.”

Aerus moved to sit in the chair across with him. It was giving him chills just to think that he’d climbed into his lap, gotten so close to that death touch of his. If he’d tried a kiss, he’d be dead.

“With a very particular set of goals, yes.” 

“So this is a kidnapping? You’re kidnapping me?” 

“For gods’ sake- why does everyone assume that? Hostages are tricky little things, and your absence wouldn’t exactly go unnoticed. You can stay here. I’ve already burned into Rook what will happen if he tries to run off with you.” He crossed his legs and leaned back on the plush couch. Oh, perks of threatening the mayor’s son. Comfort while you did it. 

“Then… why are you here?” Aerus was almost… set off by Greyson’s sheer comfort in what he was doing. Like he’d done it a million times before. 

Maybe he had. 

“Just to warn you that your Rook won’t be in contact for a little while. And that it would be very, very, very stupid of you to try and contact him, love. Mobile phones aren’t that difficult to tap into. Am I understood?”

“I- yes… is he going to be okay?”

“Fine. Euclidi doesn’t hurt vigilantes, normally. We’ll see how it goes when that vigilante is fighting him.”

“Oh, and you should really disable that camera on your balcony. I’m not the only one who will know about Rook.”

And then it seemed as though he was just… gone. But there were still footprints in the plush rug under his feet.They trailed toward the balcony, and were gone.

Aerus let out a sigh, kicked his shoes off, and collapsed into his bed, still in his suit from that night. He had servants that would iron it out for him. 

❖⊱⋆❛❜⋆⊰❖

“So… we’re just going to wait for him? Do you want him to catch us?” Rook sneered, crouched next to him behind the rubble of an apartment building Corvid had blown to bits. He hadn’t let Rook do anything yet- he wanted it to be a surprise. 

“No, I don’t want him to catch us. I want to corner him. If I can get him off my back-” they’ll probably assign another, more experienced hero “-well, we’ll see. I don’t like him.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious.”

“Shut up.”

He should’ve been here the second someone had seen him, at least. Where the hell was he?

There was a blast of blue light and wind, and Euclidi touched down on the street in front of them. Corvid smirked. There. 

Carefully, invisibly, he stood.

“I’ll cue you.” He whispered to Rook. 

Silently, he stepped forward, out from behind their little hiding place. He hadn’t quite mastered silent footsteps, though, and if anything, the rubble and dust showed his movement. Either way, it cued Euclidi in on his location.

“What was it this time? Someone owe you money?”

“I’m not a mob boss, darling. I had something I wanted to show you.”

“Another plan to kill me? They haven’t worked yet.”

“I know. Aggravating, isn’t it? You just won’t die.” He glanced behind him. “Come on out, sweetheart.” 

Corvid smirked as he turned back to Euclidi. Next to him, Rook seemed to just… appear. He hadn’t been invisible, though… he’d teleported.

Euclidi frowned, his eyes hidden behind his visor. “Moonlighter… you’re a vigilante, not a villain. What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I-”

“Quiet, darling. You don’t need to speak. I found his little boyfriend. Wasn’t hard. Go on, sweetheart, show him what you can do.”

And with that, he disappeared again. Surely Rook could handle himself. He had to, when his love was on the line. 

“Who is it?” The hero asked, exasperation peeking through his voice. 

“What?”

“Your lover. I’m sure I can- I’m sure something can be done about it.”

Rook paused for a moment. Corvid had already said he had someone in the mayor’s manor. It wouldn’t be hard for him to just… have Aerus killed. Just like that. “I’d rather not risk it.”

“I’d rather not fight a vigilante.”

“I’m not giving you a choice.” He’s not giving me a choice. 

The vigilante’s voice came from behind Euclidi, this time. As he whirled around, figures appeared around him in a vague green color. While this power wasn’t exactly advantageous in what he normally did- sneaking around the homes of those he was payed to kill or rob- it was almost unfair how well it would work here. 

Two rose from the earth at Euclidi’s sides, slightly offset behind him, and seized his arms. The hero squirmed, trying to writhe his way out of their grasp. But each hit he landed seemed to go right through them, each kick only swishing through the air. 

A car at Rook’s right had begun to levitate, almost, the outer plating coming off in jerky motions, as if an invisible giant were tearing apart his toy. It took Euclidi a moment to manipulate it to a point that he could use it- metal, even for one that could mold it to his whim- was like molding clay. It wasn’t the simplest thing. 

The figures, vaguely humanoid but not distinct, attempted to tackle Euclidi onto the ground. It seemed almost as if they were trying to push him right through the concrete of the street and into the earth. Maybe they were. 

Not that restraining his hands was doing anything to stop the metal currently molding itself into one shape or another. Euclidi didn’t need mobility to use his powers. 

Said metal, tinted with red paint from the car Euclidi had torn it off of, darted towards Rook. Corvid had learned better than to try and melt it. It was only easier for him to manipulate that way. The vigilante dodged rather easily. He didn’t even have to move- simply teleport away from its grasp. 

Even with the visor on, Corvid could see Euclidi’s mind trying to find a work around. One of Rook’s aberrations could simply place a ‘hand’ over his throat, and that would be it. 

He could see, too, when his mind found something that would click into that puzzle piece. The metal, instead of darting back towards Rook, hovered in midair for a second, then went straight for Corvid.

Or, rather, straight for the footprints in the dust of the collapsed building where Corvid had to be standing. 

He swore, and the footprints shifted as he darted towards Rook. He didn’t get the chance. 

The metal formed a barrier in front of him. It would only shift as he tried to go around. Stuck. Now for Euclidi to get the creatures off him, which had only applied more pressure onto his wrists as they tried to force him into the earth with them. 

He couldn’t touch them, that was the problem. How do you fight, how do you wrestle with a being that you can’t touch, but can touch you? 

You go for what is controlling them. 

This time, the metal he pulled from around them was the broken rebar in the rubble of the apartment building Corvid had knocked down. Why he hadn’t done that in the first place, Corvid couldn’t fathom. He knew Euclidi hated destroying property. 

But even as he manipulated the metal and tried to wrap it around Rook, the vigilante teleported again. This time, to Corvid’s side. The villain smirked and grabbed onto his upper arm, and they both teleported onto a pile of rubble.

There was no way for Euclidi to win this. He couldn’t fight off Rook’s aberrations, and he couldn’t catch Rook to subdue him. Corvid had won. It was simple as that. All he would have to do was tell Rook to kill the man, and it would be over. Corvid would probably be assigned a new hero, and he could kill that one too. Kill them until no one was willing to fight him anymore.

He just had to kill this one. 

❖⊱⋆❛❜⋆⊰❖

“Remind me what you threatened me into doing?”

“Look, I didn’t expect it to- to work so easily.”

The two were sat in the back of Greyson’s car, parked in an alley a couple blocks away from where the fight had taken place. Corvid had simply disappeared, stormed off towards it, and told Rook to hold him for a few more minutes, then meet him there. 

“Yes, you did. It’s why you asked me, isn’t it? Because you couldn’t find a way around my powers, and you were certain he couldn’t either. And he didn’t. I don’t understand what the problem is here!”

“It’s none of your business-” 

“Like hell it isn’t! You threatened to kill my boyfriend if I didn’t help you with your little pest problem. And then you back down at the last second? I had him!”

“Look, will you just calm down? It was a miscalculation, darling-”

“Don’t call me that.” 

“I’ll call you whatever I want. Last I checked, the metaphorical noose is still around your boyfriend’s throat.” Corvid warned. “Like I said, it was a miscalculation. A slip in judgment, per se. It’s nothing to worry about, I’ll handle him. You can go.”

“Finally…” Rook huffed. “Don’t call me if you need me again. I’m going to find your mole in Aerus’ staff. I’m not letting you stay that close to him.”

“You can certainly try. And it’s his father’s staff. You’re dating a trust fund baby.”

“Whatever.” And with that, Rook teleported away. Off to visit Aerus, he was sure. 

Greyson tapped on the back of his driver’s chair. “Back to the base.” 

There was no ‘please’.

❖⊱⋆❛❜⋆⊰❖

Aerus was settled in the library again. Rook had gone radio-silent, just as Corvid had warned him of, and- well-

It worried him. 

He knew the danger in Rook’s line of work, if it could be called that. But he was normally working for mob bosses, or corrupt politicians (which Aerus had more than enough experience with), or just bad people with a grudge. Not villains. Not Corvid.

Aerus had watched the fight go down on live news, worried sick. But Rook had… he’d done better than Aerus expected. And he didn’t know if he was relieved that Rook could handle himself, or agonized that he was fighting a hero. 

He decided he could be both at the same time. 

At least he wasn’t busy this week, mostly. He could worry himself to nausea without his father noticing. 

So here he was in the library, his phone in his lap, with Rook’s text thread open. He had at least 8 of them; Rook used burner phones a lot, and if he had one on him now, he hadn’t had time to give Aerus the number. 

Aerus had been warned not to contact him, anyway. He wasn’t going to try it. That was why he had Rook’s thread open, but hadn’t sent anything.

And then, as the live news station he was watching on the laptop in front of him switched to another topic, he got a message from Rook.

At my apartment. I’m on my way. Are you in your room? 

Aerus fumbled to get a reply in. He was alright, Corvid hadn’t killed him, hadn’t harmed him. Hopefully. He’d find out when Rook showed up on his balcony. 

No, but I’m going upstairs. Please be careful. 

He didn’t get a reply to that as he rushed up the stairs to his room, laptop tucked under his arm. 

Rook was already there when he got upstairs. Despite knowing he’d locked the balcony door. Pros of teleportation, he supposed. 

And cons. Rook looked utterly expended, stretched thin. Corvid had used him without regard for his limits. Aerus tossed his laptop onto the bed.

“You shouldn’t have teleported all the way here.” He said as he rushed forward to unlace the front of his suit and pull it down from his shoulders.

“I would have had to anyway, to get into your room.”

“That’s less distance. I could have waited.”

“I couldn’t.”

Aerus didn’t have an answer to that. He simply went for his wardrobe to get Rook a slightly-too-large silken set of pajamas.

“It’s only 2:30.” Rook laughed tiredly. Corvid had wanted the fight to take place in broad daylight. He’d wanted all cameras on them. Lot of good that did him. 

“I don’t care. This calls for pajamas.” He moved the laptop from his bed to his desk and guided Rook to sit somewhere on it.

That somewhere just happened to be his lap. 

“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you? Do I need to get a first aid kit?” Aerus cupped his cheek and brushed the hair out of his face, peeling the mask off and examining for wounds, bruises or cuts or otherwise. He hadn’t seen him take a hit on camera, after all, but…

Well, he didn’t know what Corvid was like, not really, but if he was anything like his father…

It was worth checking for marks. 

“Tell me everything, darling. Tell me what he’s like- anything could help the NHU, I’m sure-”

“No. We’re not telling the NHU.”  
“What? Why not? You’re a vigilante, at the worst, and I’m sure they’ll understand you were threatened! You know the rules are more… lax, on vigilantes.”

“I’m a killer, Aerus…” Rook murmured. Aerus hesitated. 

“You didn’t have any other choice. And we wouldn’t have to stay secret anymore, if you just explain yourself-” 

“No, Aerus. I need a boyfriend, not a politician.”

“I- okay. Okay. C’mere.” Aerus leaned back into the plush of far-too-many pillows, Rook not far behind him.

Aerus’ bed always made him feel small, especially with Aerus in it. And for a man always engulfed in so much stress, feeling small wasn’t necessarily bad. Sometimes it was nice to let go of it all. 

As Aerus unbuttoned his shirt, he pressed kisses to his cheekbones, to his forehead, to his jaw, his eyelids, anywhere he could reach, until Aerus was pressed against the heat of his skin, buried under a mound of pillows. 

Rook nuzzled into his shoulder. Aerus was always so warm, and maybe it was his powers or maybe he was just cold, but it always seemed to soothe something inside him, something beyond a low body heat or cold hands. 

It would’ve been better if they’d gotten under the covers, but Rook was too comfortable to maneuver them out from where they were tucked under the pillows.

Together, they fell asleep, entwined in each other’s arms. Aerus let him forget about Corvid, and about his clients, and about his powers. He didn’t have to be a vigilante or a hitman-for-hire. He just had to be Aerus’ boyfriend. And that was enough.


End file.
